Rescued
by Neon Clouds
Summary: Sometimes, in life, it's every man for himself. But, other times, we can use a boost from our friends.
1. Rescued

**I'm SO SO SO sorry I haven't updated in a while. I haven't had time at all today to write and I found this one-shot that I wrote a few months and tweaked it a little. Fair warning it may be Rated T.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing with the exception of Hopeless the bar and, sadly, Jake.**

Willa's P.O.V

"What are we doing here? I thought we were going to the movies." I asked as Jake pulled into the parking lot of Hopeless, a bar somewhere west of my house.

"Just wanted to meet up with some old friends I haven't seen in a while." he replied. _Alcoholic friends?_ I thought to myself. I was all too used to alcoholics.

"Okay..." I said, hesitantly as we made our way in. Jake was a senior I had been dating for a couple of weeks now. I can't compare it to many relationships I have had before, being the like third boy I've gone out with, but it wasn't great.

He was a little bossy and he wasn't polite, or gallant. But he was a senior, one of the hottest at our school, and I was immensely surprised when he asked me out. I only agreed to see what it was like. Though, now that I decided my experiment had concluded, he wouldn't let me breakup with him.

Even though he was eighteen he could easily pass off as twenty one and get in, but when they let me have a drink even though I was only fifteen, I knew they couldn't care less who walked through that door as long as they bought something.

Jake went and said hey to the people I would guess he had been waiting for. They looked like twenty six! Then they started to order drinks. And then more. And more. Before I knew it, I was sitting in front of a drunk pack of idiots, hooting and hollering like no one was listening.

"Come on, baby. Drink something." Jake told me. He had already made me drink one of those girly cocktails with the pink coloring and fruits, which I disliked from the moment it passed my lips. I refused to have more. I didn't like the taste of alcohol.

"No, I don't want anything." I said simply. He laughed and so did some of his buddies. I was disgusted and my patience was wearing out. "Sweetheart, just have something to drink. It won't kill you."

"I said, I don't want anything." I repeated, a bit louder, as I felt my body temperature rise. Some of the other people around us were staring and I could tell Jake was getting mad and even a little embarrassed. My eyes said it all. _Keep that stuff away. Want me to drink it so bad, bite me._

"Just drink something." he said, his jaw set. Yep, he was mad.

"No!"

His hand went up and before I had a chance to process what was going on, he whacked me hard across the face, sending me flying out of my chair. I hit the floor and gasped in pain. He got out of his chair and bent down. The strong smell of alcohol on his breath made me want to push him away but I was afraid he'd hit me again.

He told me sternly, "You do what I say or else." he raised his hand again, ready to repeat the brutal gesture, and I got the message. He stood back up, sat down, and went right back to talking with his other drunk, moron friends. I put my hand to my cheek, where I was sure a red mark was forming, and found myself fingering a sticky liquid dripping down my face. I pulled my hand away and saw dark red blood on my fingers.

I walked to the restroom and examined myself in the mirror. There was blood gushing down from my nose and a mark on my cheek, a big red spot shaped like a hand. The bloodshot skin stung viciously when I went to touch it.

All of a sudden the door to the restroom swished open and a girl that looked around eighteen came in. She turned to me, "Are you okay?" _Well, that's odd. Why did this stranger care if I was okay?_ When I didn't answer, she repeated. "I saw what happened out there. Are you alright?"

"Um, yeah, I'm fine."

She raised an eyebrow at me. "You're not very good at lying." She said and walked over. She grabbed a piece of toilet paper and wiped the blood from my face. I must have flinched, because she paused, apologized, and handed it to me, allowing me to clean it up myself. Because that was something I was so used to doing. Cleaning up my own messes.

Suddenly, with her long red hair and narrow hazel eyes, she looked pretty familiar. "You should get some ice on that." She pointed to the area under my eye where she had informed me I was forming a bruise.

"Yeah, thanks. I'll make sure to do that later." I smiled meekly.

"Hey, don't let him treat you that way. Trust me; I know what you're going through. And I know that just letting it happen isn't going to solve anything, okay? If he does anything else, I can take you home."

As she turned to leave I asked her, "Do I know you from somewhere?"

She turned around and smiled, "Yeah, I'm in your Chemistry class."

"Oh, now I remember you. Your name's Abby, right?"

"Yep. And you're Willa. It's hard to forget the smartest girl in the class." She laughed when I blushed a little.

"Thanks."

"No problem. Just remember, I can take you home." I nodded.

When she was gone, I splashed some cold water on my face and tried to make myself not look so weak and vulnerable before leaving. Getting back to the table, I saw that Jake and his friends were still laughing like boneheads. Cretins, the lot of them. I rolled my eyes, but tried not to draw so much attention to myself as I sat down.

"Hey, the bitch is back," Jake jeered, sneering. The rest of them joined in the guffaw. I bit my tongue to keep myself from saying anything. "So, after this do you want to come back to my place?" he said, rubbing my knee. I shook uneasily at his touch but didn't refuse. I couldn't risk getting him angry again. "My parents are away for the weekend and the house is empty." His hand started higher up my thigh and I felt more uncomfortable. But I didn't stop him.

"What do you say?" he asked, moving his hand to other places, at which point I stood, grabbed my purse and ran out of the bar. The night was cold, but I didn't care. All I was thinking about was getting out of there.

Suddenly, I was surprised by my own actions. _Did that get him mad?_ I had to contemplate. _Of course it did. Now what's he gonna do to me?_ Trying to force my mind not to visualize the long list of things he would be capable of doing, I almost did hear the door fly open. I turned around to see Jake stumbling his way toward me. He was _so_ drunk. "Where ya going, babe?" he said, laughing.

"Take me home." I said, crossing my arms over my chest furiously. His smile disappeared into the abyss of things that seized to exist, where I'm sure his brain and his heart remained. He came toward me, heatedly. "Don't be stupid, get back in there." He growled.

"No! Take me home!" I yelled. He was frustrated at my persistence, but reluctantly decided to take me home.

Even under the influence, he wasn't a bad driver. At first, I was afraid of having him behind the wheel; his misjudgment might have meant the tragic end of my life. But, he didn't run over anyone, he stopped at all the red lights and was doing pretty good. That was, until he pulled over in the shadow of a dark alley.

"Where are we? I told you I wanted to go home." I said; my voice was shaky. I couldn't see anything, but I felt a hand running up and down my thigh. I pushed it away. My heart beat sped up, so loud he must have heard the rhythmic hum of it.

His hand wandered the tender areas of my skin, both that exposed and hidden behind my clothing. Chills ran up my spine when he touched me. "What are you doing?" I asked, beginning to panic. He laughed as though to say 'You know exactly what I'm doing.' And I did.

He started to kiss my neck. His words slurred a bit as he said, "You know, when I see you around school I thought you were pretty hot. I wonder how much hotter you would look like this." Then he climbed on top of me and began to peel my shirt off.

"GET OFF!" I shrieked. Screams, loud and shrilly, like that of a girl in a horror movie, escaped me. Hoping someone would hear. Hoping someone would come to save me. But I knew no one would. Heroic rescues were made for princesses. A wench must learn to save herself.

I was hitting him, kicking him, and trying just about anything to shove him away. When his hands gripped me firmly, refusing to let go, I dug my nails deep into his skin, in hopes of making him loosen his hold. Blood appeared along the cuts but it only seemed to make him more excited at the sight of it. I struggled desperately to unlatch his hands from around me. Somehow, though it's a wonder to me, it was manageable. Reaching outwardly, my hand found the door handle and I swung it open, all force.

I scrambled out and ran as fast as I could. Behind me, I heard his engine start up and began sprinting hard and fast. I couldn't let him catch up to me.

I was in the less busy area and not many cars were passing by. Knowing I would never be able to out-run his car, I tried to get him off my trail. I took as many sudden turns as I could. Abruptly, as I run across the street, a car nearly hit me. In all my fright, I hadn't noticed it coming. I turned to the driver and mouthed a sorry.

I kept running and running. I passed block after block after block, questioning where all this energy came from. I was never any good at sports, including running. I stopped, panting for air. I was almost positive I lost him, but I ended up lost myself too. I had no idea where I was and it was dark out. I paced in circles, wondering what I was going to do. Finally, it hit me. Everything. A wave of grief came crashing over me, smothering me. My throat tightened and I tried to hold back my tears. Regardless, I broke down. I put my back to the fence and tried to get the image of the little episode out of my head, completely frustrated. I slide down the floor, my legs unable to keep me up, to a sitting position and started to cry.

Finn's P.O.V

I knew I had the stupidest grin on my face as I drove home. I just had the most perfect date with Amanda and had just dropped her off at Ms. Nash's. A picnic in the park followed by an evening stroll, oh, it was genius. I couldn't help but feel like I was the modern-day Romeo, well without the dying in the end part.

I tried focusing on the road, but it was hard to when I was thinking of Amanda. Her glossy lips, soft and sweet as we kissed. Her beautiful eyes that shone in the moonlight. Her hair lusciously cascading over her shoulders as we walked.

But, I was so busy thinking about her that I forgot about the road. I heard a long honk from behind me and realized the light turned green. Oops. Just as I began to drive again, someone ran across the street right in front of me. I hit the brakes quickly and prayed I didn't hit them.

At first, the person was frozen like a deer in headlights, eyes like one too, and I had enough time to take in her appearance. Her shirt had some blood on it. Her long dark hair was pulled back in a messed up ponytail. Her lipstick smeared onto her cheek. She had a large red mark and some blood stains on her face. "Oh my god," I said to myself.

Then she mouthed a sorry and ran off. I pushed my head out the window. "Willa! WILLA!" But she didn't hear my calls over the honking from behind me. I grumbled some words that would have easily gotten me grounded, and continued, refusal to lose track of her my drive.

It was when I came to a dark street that I began to feel concerned, thinking I lost her. I slowly drove down the different neighboring streets until I found her. She was sitting in fetal position with her back against a fence and her head in her knees, crying.

Willa's P.O.V

I didn't know what to think. I was nervous Jake would find me, but I was too mortified to move. While I was paralyzed with fright, around me the world continued as it was. The sound of honking as angry drivers tried to maneuver a way through the traffic. The post lamps shone like stars down on Earth. The lights in the apartments flicked off and on.

Suddenly, I felt a hand on my shoulder and I jumped a little. My stomach twisted in a knot. _Oh no, he found me!_ "Wills, you okay?" My heart leapt at the sound of the familiar voice. I glanced up and saw Finn looking down at me worriedly. I jumped up and hugged the day-lights out of him. I was so indescribably happy to see him that I didn't know what else to do.

I pulled away and his eyes opened wide in shock when he saw my bruise. "What happened?" he asked me and a fresh batch of tears rolled down my cheeks. He pulled my in and hugged me again. "Hey, it's okay." He whispered, rubbing my back. I pulled away, drying my tears, and he helped me into the passenger seat of his car. He sat in the driver's seat but didn't touch the keys.

"Please, Willa, just tell me what happened." So I did. I told him about Jake and his drunken friends. About him slapping me. About Abby offering me a ride home. And about him feeling me up.

"I'm so stupid." I choked out between sobs, staring out the window. Finn placed his hand under my chin, turning my face to his.

"No, you're not. He's an ass hole with no life. You can't blame yourself. You deserve way better than that and you know it." I shrugged because I wasn't sure if he was completely right, but looked up and gave him a small grateful smile anyways. Glancing at the clock, Finn said, "We should get home." He started the engine and drove off.

The whole drive to Finn's house we were quiet. "Your house?" I asked when he led me up the driveway.

"Well, he knows where you live, doesn't he?" Finn asked, and I nodded. He was right, that would be the first place Jake would check if he was looking for me. All the lights were turned off in his house._ How late is it?_

"Sit down," he motioned toward the couch when we were inside. I sat and he left the room. When he came back, there was a pile of blankets in his arms.

"Sorry, I would offer to sleep in a bed, but frankly my room is a mess." He said and I giggled. He set the blankets on the couch and sat next to me.

"I'm really sorry about what happened." He whispered. I shook my head.

"Don't be. It wasn't your fault that I was dumb enough to go along with that."

"Oh, I was talking about nearly running you over," he joked. I laughed and shoved him good-humoredly. "I'm kidding. But, seriously, don't feel that way. And if he ever bothers you again, don't worry. Maybeck, Philby, and I will handle him." I smiled.

"What, you can't handle him yourself?" I teased.

"I bring you into my home and you insult me and call me weak?" Finn pretended to be offended. "Well, if that's how you feel, then I'll just take my blankets and go." He grabbed the pile off the couch and began to walk away. Then he turned back around, chuckling, and tossed them back to me. I rolled my eyes, but laughed too.

"Goodnight," I said, pulling a blanket over me.

"Goodnight," he said, walking toward the stair case.

"Finn?"

"Yeah?" he asked, turning around.

I got up and hugged him, "Thanks."

**Aw. Well isn't that a sweet little one-shot? Don't be going on thinking this is a Filla story. I am so definitely Wilby all the way. This is more of a brother/sister friendship type thingy. **

**Okay people of the internet, you see that button right down there. That, my friends, will open a portal to a world called Churrolantis where you can eat all the churros you please. Use it now! Read, review, and enjoy churros!**


	2. Bullied

**10/31/12**

**Alrighty so this is the second of a possible one-shot series. That is, if you vote to continue it. Someone suggested it to me a while ago and I decided to give it a shot. So if you want a series of one-shots of different keepers helping each other, please vote yes. Also, this is a one-shot that I wrote about bullying, considering this is the last day of Stop Bullying Month. Sorry if it's badly written and has a lot of mistakes, I did this speedily to get it up.**

I was shoving some books hastily into my locker, minutes after the bell, the hallways basically cleared fully. My teacher decided that it'd be fun to make everyone leave late just for the sheer heck of it. The locker door shut with a slam. I checked my watch again. Great! 5 minutes late! My bus left by now, no doubt.

I grumbled, hurrying down the hall, with hope that it might still be there. But, as I passed the girls' locker room I heard laughing and a loud bang. Knowing the bus probably left anyways, I found no harm in investigating.

My book bag settled against the wall, I pushed the door open. There was more laughter from deeper in the maze of lockers. I followed the noise. Then, the muffled noises began to clear, forming words and distinguishable voices. "What're you gonna do, freak? You gonna use your weirdo witch powers or voodoo dolls to kill me?"

There was a mumble, though I couldn't make out exactly what words were being said.

"Oh, come on. Don't be expecting us to give up like that. We're just getting started." There was another slam. Then silence. I heard footstep run past through a different route, and the locker room door swing closed. I was about to depart, thinking the room was now just as vacant as the corridors but was stopped but a grunt, of someone obviously in pain.

"Hello?" I called. "Who's there?" Silence again. Whoever was there clearly wanted to be left alone. But, no way was I just leaving them there! I began to walk around, up and down the lengths of the halls until I found them. I gasped.

"Jess!" I ran over to her. She looked up at me, but quickly looked away, ashamed and humiliated. "What happened?"

"Nothing." She muttered, trying to stand up. But her leg gave out and I just barely caught her before her head collided with the bench.

"What. Happened." I argued. Before she could answer however, I began to take notice of certain things. The bruise just below her cheekbone. Small trickled of blood in her blonde hair. Badly scrapped legs and battered arms. I swallowed, running my fingers gently over the damaged skin. She gasped in pain. I murmured sorrowfully, "Jess."

"Just go, Willa. I'm fine." She protested. Another attempt to stand was at play, but I stopped her.

"Quit it! You'll hurt yourself even more." I supported her, trying to relieve her legs of as much weight as possible. "Who did this to you?" She was quiet. "Answer me!"

"Who do you think?" She snapped at me, wincing, both at the pain and at the fact that yelled. I knew who she was talking about immediately. The four most popular girls in school, three of whose names we forgettable, simple followers that liked to squeeze themselves in enough to get a smidgen of their leader's limelight. Veronica. I _hated _her.

We were just barely making it out the school doors, when she decided we needed to take a break. "She did this to you? She's so got another thing coming if she thinks she can just-"

"You're not doing anything." Jess interrupted me. "This is my problem."

"But-"

"No! You are not getting involved!"

"Fine, I won't get involved." We sat there, silence heavy between us. "So what do you suggest we do in terms of transportation? All the buses are gone."

"You just go on home. I'll find a way home."

"That's not an option." She groaned at my persistence. "Philby usually stays after school a while to go do a little rock-climbing. We'll just wait for him. I'm sure he won't mind."

"Well, I will." Jess crossed her arms. "It's demeaning having him see me like this. I don't even want _you _to see me like this!"

"Like what? We all see each other get hurt when we cross over."

"This is different." She said simply. I kind of knew where she was coming from. It's one thing to get a bad cut from a sword, it's another to be bullied by snobby girls who like to pick on people.

I was going to get into a long speech about how the people who should be ashamed are them and all that stuff but instead simply said, "We're waiting for Phil." End of discussion.

Jess's P.O.V

The classroom speaker went off in the middle of Ms. Divoli's lecture on how being late is wasting class-time, while managing to take up 15 minutes with the speech itself. "Yes?"

"Can you please send Jessica Lockhart to room nine?" I gulped. Ms. Divoli looked at me.

"She's on her way." The class erupted into oooh's. Room 9 was the counselor's office. I was in trouble. She handed me a pass and I hurried out the door, down the halls.

I came up to the wooden door painted green; staring up at it like it was unreal. Then summoning courage, pushed it open. In front of me, three chairs we set up, facing Ms. Smith's desk. The middle was empty. The others were occupied by Willa and Veronica. _Oh, perfect._

Shakily I asked, "You wanted to see me?"

"Yes, please sit down, Jessica." I did as I was told, slightly scooting the chair away from Veronica.

Before Ms. Smith could speak, Veronica shouted, "Them. These two! They always bully me." _You've got to be kidding me._

"Isabella tells me another story." Ms. Smith, level-headed and considerate to both sides of an argument, replied. "From what I've heard, you've been tormenting her ever since the beginning of the school year. Pulling her braids, calling her names, mocking her." She stated, undeniably knowing this side of the story was a more logical one.

"Excuse me." I butted in. "But, how do I fit into all this?"

"Depending on whose story is true, you're either a second tormenter or a second victim." She explained. "Girls, unless someone is willing to come forward and tell the truth, we might be here a while." _Good, I could miss science for once._

"Just the other day, she was slamming Jess repeatedly into the lockers. She's scrapped and bruised all over!" Willa said.

"Jess, is this true?" I hesitated to answer, and in this time, someone did for me.

"Of course it's not! She's making it up." Veronica complained.

Ms. Smith simply turned back to me. I looked down at my pants I'd been sure to wear to cover my bloody legs, accompanied but a long-sleeve sweater to cover my arms. "No. That's not true."

"Is it true, then, that you have been bullying Veronica."

Again, I was hesitant to answer. Again, someone answered for me. But, this time, without words.

Willa reached over and yanked up my sweater sleeve, revealing long nail-scratches along my arm. Dark pink. Fresh. There were deep marks where her nails dug into my skin. "Wait, there's more."

"Willa, stop." I told her.

"Show her." She asserted. I sighed, ashamed, and further rolled up both my sleeves and my pant legs, revealing black and blue skin. . "Jessica, did Veronica do this to you?"

"She…yes." I hung my head.

Ms. Smith looked deep in thought. "You just said she didn't. Which is it?"

"She did, ma'am." I couldn't stand to even look up.

"Well, then. Veronica, you have detention for the next week. We'll go over further details tomorrow."

"What! But-"

"We'll discuss it tomorrow. You're dismissed."

As soon as those words left her mouth, I jumped out and ran out the door. When I was going down the hall, I heard Willa call behind me.

"What?" I turned around, exasperated.

"Are you mad at me?"

"You didn't listen to me. You went against your word. You almost got me in trouble with the counselor. And, thanks to you, Veronica's going to kill me." She looked at me apologetically. "Of course I'm not mad!"

"You're not?"

"Nope, at least now, I know I have someone to face her with." She smiled at me and I couldn't help but smile back.

**Please R, R, and R! And don't forget to vote!**


	3. You and I, in the freezing cold

**Okay so this may seem like a Famanda, but looks can be deceiving. Just read...**

**1/28/13**

Finn's P.O.V

I didn't know what exactly happened. She might have gotten sidetracked. Or forgotten. Maybe there was an emergency with Jess. I sighed. I knew none of that was really a great option. Anyways, for the past ten minutes I'd been waiting out by the school garden for Amanda, where we always meet, at the same time we always meet, waiting to take her to the Frozen Marble, where we always eat on Friday's.

So that pretty much rules out the forgotten thing. And if something came up she probably would have called. I was being stood up and I guess I had to live with it.

After a few more minutes, I decided to call it quits and call her when I got home to make sure everything was alright. The drive home was lonely and quiet, the passenger seat being unoccupied; this was a new for me in a while.

When I got home, I said hi to my mom, who looked surprised that I was home so early, as she was also accustomed to my Friday schedule. My sister didn't seem to even notice, since she was locked in her own little world, listening to One Direction, that seems to play on loop _every single day_ for her.

Once in the privacy and tranquility of my own room, I threw my stuff next to my desk and hopped onto the bed. I pulled out my phone and called Nash's place. What a pity they don't have their own cell phones.

"_Hello?"_ I heard from the other line, though it wasn't a very familiar voice.

"Hi, this is Finn Whitman. Is -"

"_Like, OMG, hi, Finn. It's Jeannie. Remember me?" _Oh for the love of all things good and pure.

"Oh, yeah. Hey. Um, I was just calling to see if Amanda was there by any chance."

"_Actually-Jess, wait a minute. I'm on the ph-"_ Suddenly, I couldn't hear anything but muffled whispers not lacking harsh tones.

"Hello?"

"_Hey, Finn, it's Jess."_

"Thanks for picking up the phone. Any more of talking to her and…well, you get my point. Is Amanda there? She wasn't there afterschool and I figured she must have gone back to Nash's."

There was a pause. _"Wait, so Amanda's not with you?"_

"No. Why, she's not there?"

"_That would be a negative. Oh, great. This isn't good." _I almost think I heard her hyperventilating over the phone.

"Jess? Jess, are you okay? What's wrong?"

"_Amanda's been acting real weird lately. Like right after dinner she goes out on a walk then doesn't come back until late at night. Then she spends the next few hours until like one in the morning doing homework. I had a feeling something was up but I didn't think it was anything worth worrying about."_

I sat up, all the information that she just spewed out at me sinking in. "What are you suggesting, exactly?"

"_Well, hm, Finn, let me guess" _She snapped, but from her voice I could tell she was fighting back tears. _"A teenager, at an age where hormones are out of whack and we can be moody as heck, spends more time than necessary out alone every day and suddenly disappears. She's beyond upset about something. There were some fairlies at the old orphanage that did this before and they weren't found for days, maybe weeks."_

"You don't think she might have…done something to hurt herself, do you?"

"_I'm not going to discard it as an option. All I know for sure right now is that we'd better find her. We're in the middle of winter, it's fifty-something degrees out and her jacket's here."_

"I'll start looking. Call the others and ask if they've seen her."

…

My mind was a mess of whizzing thoughts and questions looming around. Just getting the keys into the ignition caused trouble because my brain refused to process what I was doing at the moment.

The temperature had plummeted since the beginning of the day, now at a staggering 48 degrees. It wasn't the easiest thing in the world to look through my fogged windshield and I nearly had to turn my heater on all the way. I just really hoped that Amanda was okay and we were just overreacting to nothing.

First place to check that popped into my mind was the park. She loved to go there, especially during cold weather because she said it reminded her of when she was back up north. I parked the car real quick and stepped out.

To begin with, I was calm. At a slight stride, I made my way around the paths, looking this way and that. After a while, however, I started to get anxious at the setting sun, a sure since it was growing later than I would have hoped. I cupped my hands around my mouth and called out her name.

Squirrels scattered at the sudden noise, dashing up their trees to safety. Overhead, birds cried out to each other, as if warning them of the human below. There weren't many people in the park on such a cold day so I didn't have to worry about looking like a complete idiot. Beneath my feet, crisp leaves of reds and yellows galore crunched, recently fallen. Bare branches jerking in the wind made a distinct sound, setting a serene mood over the grounds.

I sighed, trying to make oxygen's regular routine follow through well. The cold had settled in my lungs at my yelling and I found it increasingly hard to continue shouting. I thought it useless to linger there if she obviously wasn't present in the estate.

Jogging back to my car to drive to the next decided location, I realized the sky was a brilliant fresco of pinks and purples, deep and light, either cascading or separating into swirls around the now virtually entirely vanished sun. The sunset would have been a gorgeous sight on any other day but now it seemed infinitely disheartening as it was a sign of how late it was becoming.

Next destination.

…

By now the first of the night's star were peeking out in their minor luminosity through the sheet of darkness blanketed atop the earth. My phone began to ring a familiar song and I answered it immediately knowing it was Jess.

"Any news?"

"_Not yet. The others said that they looked too but they haven't found her. Do you think the O.T.'s got her?"_

I sighed miserably. "I don't know. That's a possibility, but if she's been acting temperamental lately, I'd say that wasn't the case."

"_Charlie said that she and Amanda were texting the other day. Apparently, she misses the snow and everything. You know, from Maine. That's gotta be something. But I don't get why that might have made her so upset. I mean, I get that she's homesick but it's not like things were so much better up there either."_

"Hm. I don't know. It's getting real cold out. You should go home, get indoors. Tell the others too."

"_No. No, I'm not going back until I know Amanda's safe. If you're staying out, I am too."_

"Jess, you're support is incredible and Amanda will be so grateful for all the effort but please don't stay outside. You'll freeze."

"_But, Finn, she's my sister."_

"And you'd be a better one to her if you weren't an icicle. Please."

"_Okay, fine, but don't stay out too late either."_

"I won't. Bye."

She sighed. _"Bye."_

Philby's P.O.V

I was wholly reluctant to go indoors as Jess had ordered us. I knew how much it must have been hurting her that we hadn't found her sister yet. And Amanda was _my _sister too and telling me to stop looking for her wasn't a very tempting request. But I did so anyways after deciding I really didn't want to argue with Jess at that moment.

However, getting to sleep was a different story. No matter what I did, fatigue stayed just beyond my reach, tantalizing me with its promise of the unconscious world. So, I just laid there awake on my bed, without any real expectation of what tomorrow would bring.

My train of thought stayed on one rail: Amanda. I tried to remember any time that she might have mentioned something, anything that would be a clue right now. Every little detail, I was going over it. From the little trinkets she liked to keep on her night table to the way she recently seemed so interested in staring into space at our meetings.

Charlene had hinted towards a vague nostalgia. By now, I would have assumed that locked in place as reason of withdrawal. It just became a matter of where she might have run off to.

Subconscious mind was taking control and I wasn't the most sentient I could have been at the point that I jolted up with remembrance.

Instantly, I jumped off my bed, sitting down in the chair by my desk and began to call the others. There was no doubting the sluggish voices over the phone, still probably only collecting half of my speech, were hesitant at my idea. It's not like it would have been any of our first choices but we were taking any proposal at this point.

Immediately after hanging up, I was grabbing my keys and out the door. On the cold January night, everything seemed so quiet, with barely any passing cars and deserved pathways. The lights of lampposts flickered, giving off the impression they'd give out soon. Hopefully they'd last 'til morning.

As I turned into the abandoned area, maneuvering around trees, bare-branched and twilight-infected, I knew that this was right. With the vision of a snowless season to behold, instead of the usual cheerful appearance on Christmas cards, the scenery had a lugubrious animosity that was utterly intriguing and could perhaps be seen on the cover of a dystopian novel.

Branches snapped beneath my feet as I came to sit along the river bank, hardened with the recent chill. The river itself wasn't a long way across; really not much longer than a few yards out. A dull, dark blue waved along, a thin layer of water over the murky floor of mud below.

"It's not cold enough." She muttered, breaking the silence. Her knees were brought up with her arms enfolded around them to hold them to her chest so as to lean her head upon them.

I nodded. So much for winters in Florida. I never did understand why people fly to warmer areas during Christmas. "We don't really have the climate for skating down here, do we?" She shook her head, miserably. "Up north, did you go a lot?"

"Me and Jess, yeah." Even in the short excuse for a sentence, her voice noticeably cracked. I noted her eyes growing watery.

In espy, the sundered girl looked at me with helpless eyes, almost as though she were hoping herself venial; her self-compunction breaks my heart. I wanted to tell her she had nothing to be sorry about, I pray I can say enough to make her feel exculpated.

As I scooted toward her, she did not abjure my action, I sign I knew she wasn't objecting to comfort.

Watching her shudder, it suddenly hit me how long she'd been outside without much protection. I laid an arm across her shoulders and drew her towards me, removing my thick jacket and wrapping her in it.

"Did I ever tell you about the time I left England?" She shook her head, leaning into me, small tears running over the rim of her eyes. "I wasn't much older than seven and my dad suddenly came home with the astounding news that he'd gotten a promotion and we were moving to America. My mum thought the idea was bloody brilliant." I chuckled to myself remembering her delighted reaction. "I, on the other hand, was mortified.

"I didn't want to leave my friends, my old school. I was deserting my entire country and I felt like it was the end of the world. Where I'd lived, there was always a lot of snow. During winter-time the only way to describe things was white. When we moved, it was just coming into the beginning of December and you can imagine my disappointment."

"Yeah," she mumbled, "I know how that feels."

"_But_, it wasn't all that bad. I found that instead of the typical winter activities I did in England, I could make new traditions with my new friends." She was silent, her gaze fixed on the gentle current of the stream. "I know you're homesick. There's no denying it. I just want to know, why now? Is there anything that's been bothering you?"

Her bottom lip quivered and her cheeks turned a flustered pink as she unashamedly sobbed into me. She is so well kept together that I hadn't been expecting this, and her wave of vehement comes crashing down on me without warning.

"I don't know. It's just..." She breathed shakily, her entire body racketing into me. "I HATE how I feel about it and I know it's stupid, but I just miss everything. I left some much in Maine. Everybody I loved was up there. All I had left of what might. Have been my family was up there. And you can fly there for vacation or family reunions or something. I can't. And I...I just have nothing in my life."

"Amanda," my sudden concern for her suddenly could not have gone beyond what it was at the moment. She knows that I'm not showing unctuous emotion. "What provoked this? Why did you just sudden start to worry so much about it?"

She sniffled, lifting her head to wipe away her tears. "There are these girls in my school. They bully me because I don't have a family. I never let it get to me before but I guess it finally did."

I frowned. The cruelty of people could sometimes surprise me. How could somebody be so despicable that they make someone, who must already feel awful about their life, pile on more pain to weigh them down?

"Why didn't you go to Finn about this? Or any of us, for that matter?"

She shrugged, "I didn't want to bug you with something so stupid."

I tilted her head to look at me. "It _isn't _stupid. If you have a problem, there are people you can talk to. A teacher. A counselor. Your _friends_." She looked abashed now, her eyes glossed with tears, biting her lip to keep from crying. My mellifluous words seemed to make her unruffled, though. "Promise me, please _promise me _that you'll come to one of us if you have a problem."

With a whimper of relief, she nodded and limply leaned into me. As she was still shaking like a leaf in a rain storm, I hold her closer to me trying to transfer body heat. This propinquity is nothing more than that of two friends, however.

She's freezing against me. I kiss the top of her head and let her sob, not saying anything. But we both know what the other is saying.

"Amanda!" I hear from behind and the both of us turn. The others all come running, hugging and kissing her (in Finn's case, OBVIOUSLY). They're shooting questions at her from every angle and she just buries herself farther into me. I think it's just for warmth but I could be wrong.

As we all gather our stuff and let the raucous of the night rest into a peaceful tranquility, I look up at the sky and notice that the stars are all there, shining onto us. Amanda was comfortably seated in the passenger seat of Finn's car, with the balminess of the heater on her, when she waves me over.

"Phil, thanks for what you said back there. I really didn't…I didn't know what to do and you made it so clear that I can come to you guys about anything." Staring into her eyes, what before held the sorrow of a broken girl, I now saw something reflecting from within her, with a strong light. Her diaphanous smile is contagious and her vicissitude is enough to make me grin involuntarily.

**What did you think? I hope you don't mind that it's Amanda and Philby cuz they're just friends, like seriously. Hope you liked it!**


	4. Over a boy

**Day three of Keeper Week! Just barely made it because I had a lot of homework today, but for the amount of time I had to work on it, I'd say it's not so horrible and I'm just proud of myself for at least getting it to 2,000 words!**

Charlene's P.O.V

There was more to that little sparkle in his eye than just the curiosity of my being. He didn't care much about my personality. If we were in Geography right now, he would be studying physical features. My skin crawled at imagining what might have been playing through his head at that moment. Disgusting. Absolutely disgusting.

"Why do you just beat it?" I had asked Zeph, in a growl more than anything.

"Come on, just think about it." He winked at me, so I shot him a sarcastic half-smile and kindly invited him to shove it. It became quite evident as the conversation continued this way that he wasn't getting the message, or at least was too stubborn to give in.

No one day, no two, but three days he persisted at this, in such a manner that I knew it was some kind of pride matter between him and his buddies. I couldn't say I hadn't been hit on before, but it was occasionally in an actual flattering style and never to such a revolting extent as this.

Who would have ever imagined that the real problem wasn't him? My triple-day follower had suddenly been discovered by his girlfriend, fellow cheerleader Martha Stanward, who was not in the slightest pleased that he was so hung over on me. She, being ranked below me, already had motive to hate the life out of me, and with this as a pile-on, it must have driven her too far.

Somewhere along the way, he had managed to convince her it was the other way around. _She's in love with me. I can't get rid of her, I mean she just keeps stalking me everywhere. And I didn't want to hurt her feelings, you're both on the squad together and I didn't want to ruin that._

Ha! What a joke that was! But Martha wasn't laughing. In fact, she bought it with a simple smack of their lips and a promise that he would never do anything to hurt her. Excuse me while I try to pick my jaw up from the floor.

"You've got some nerve." She startled me when she charged down the path in the girls' locker room. Ten minutes after practice ended, I showered, rid myself of the layer of sweat that made my ponytail stick to my back, and was just beginning to change.

"What?" I stared at her incredulously, as the other members of the squad turned to watch the encounter.

"Trying to steal my boyfriend! Okay, you might like getting around the entire male population of our school but steer clear from Zeph, got it?" The bitter snap in Martha's tone both bemusing and irritating.

"Excuse me, but I happen to have a boyfriend of my own."

"I don't need to know that you like to cheat." With that, I was so far past the edge, I had just created a new level of fury.

"You'd better bite your tongue before speaking about someone's affairs like that. I've never cheated nor will I ever on Donnie. And even less likely so with your piece of work for a boyfriend." I retorted, never missing a beat. With a heart rate monitor, I could have probably seen the number 150 flash on the screen because I was absolutely pumping mad.

"Take that back, slut!" She shrieked, shoving me by the shoulders so that I stumbled back onto the lockers. My shoulder blade slammed harshly into a combination lock, and it throbbed painfully but I stood and glared at her with all the power in me.

"I'm beyond this." I responded simply, and she shivered visibly at the receiving end of my narrowed glare. "If only you could say the same." As I started towards the doors, I stopped momentarily to mutter back to her. "By the way, try to keep that bf of yours on a leash. Poor thing has been trailing around after me for the past few days like a love-sick puppy."

Only a few steps before I felt someone shove me forward in a single swift movement. My head collided with the floor and my thoughts clouded with a surge of pain. I felt the skin on my left shoulder and knee tear at the touch of rough gravel and knew I must have been bleeding. Both out of pain and ire, I groaned.

Steadily, I tried to rise up onto my feet but I was pushed down again and rolled over onto my back. A minuscule mob of girls leapt up from their positions on the bench, some with expressions of concern and others with that of resentment, likely friends of Martha's.

Of all the things that I would have ever pictured happening to me, the last might have been a group of colleague cheerleaders attacking me over a boy. Far down on the list, below being killed by the Overtakers and below having Elvis Presley sing me to sleep as a honey bear dances in a tutu.

Fists pounded against my back as I was pushed and pulled around, completely out of sorts. They tossed me around violently, either against the ground or the wall. Every time, I would involuntarily let out a small whimper in plea. My skull felt scraped and bruised from being pounded an innumerable amount of times.

I heard some girls shout in protest, yelling out for them to stop. They were the older ones, seniors and juniors many. While the ones atop me were mostly freshman, yet in such a big group I had trouble fending them off.

It wasn't until I felt something sharp slice the delicate skin of my ankle that I full-on screamed. The other assailants held me down as it continued to burn, holding my head so I couldn't look down even had I wanted to.

But I guess my war had been won for me, because not a minute later, the room was dead silent and I didn't feel the weight of the other girls on me anymore. I couldn't cry, I wouldn't.

Then a chorus of questions was fired at me as the older girls tried to check me over and see what damage had been done. My head hurt too much to focus on what they were saying, and the pain blurred my vision, virtually blinding me from my surroundings. Subconsciously, I heard some of them chatter about how those girls would be punished for this, but I didn't care about that. I just wanted the pain to go away.

Everything had been mostly a haze after that, aside from one clear sentence as the one I thought I recognized as the captain said quietly, "You're going to be fine."

Amanda's P.O.V

Given that I typically didn't communicate much with Charlene aside from our video-chat Keeper meetings or when we got together with the girls, and even when I did it was ordinarily through text, I was more or less surprised to see that she had called me. And even more surprised when it wasn't her voice that I heard over the phone.

As I drove home from school, cautiously crossing the streets back to Ms. Nash's, I answered. "Hello?" I asked, wondering if they could hear me over the loud ruckus in the background.

"Um…hi, is this Amanda?" The girl over questioned, sounding worried.

"Yeah," I replied shortly. Barely, I heard the girl talking to other people in the background and began to contemplate what was going on. "Hello?"

"Sorry, um, is Charlene Turner a friend of yours?"

My heart sped up a little because something in her voice told me that the situation was wrong, so very wrong. "Yeah. Why? Did something happen?"

"She's in some trouble and we didn't know who to contact. We just called the first person in her contact list. It's kinda hard to explain, but she really needs you to come over to our school right now, in the gym. Do you know where it is?"

"Mhm." I muttered into the phone quietly, and stuttered out, "I'll be right there."

All in all, I drove hastily over to the school, probably just by a whisker in any kind of legal fashion . But at the moment, I was severely nervous about Charlene and really didn't care about any of that.

The school, being basically a foreign place to me, was one big maze in the eyes of a stranger. I could have sworn I had passed through the same hallway three times but each time the doors had different numbers on them. Walking, running, searching frantically, I continued to search like that for a good amount of time having no idea where I was before I finally stumbled upon the large metal doors with a label that read **Gymnasium**.

Basically throwing the doors open, I hurried in but came to face an entirely empty sports hall. "Hello?" I called out, hoping that it wasn't just a prank because I really didn't feel like putting up with something like that. At the same time, though, I was also anxious that I had arrived too late and Charlene was in a far worse predicament than before.

"In here!" I hear a shout from the left and turned to see what appeared to be a locker room. Rushing in, I was met with a gruesome sight that made my heart sting with anguish.

"Charlie." I choked out, observing the damaged girl in front of me. Cradled carefully in the arms of an older teen girl, she was bleeding profusely from her hands and knees. All along her arms, legs, and face ran a chain of black and blue that made me sick with sorrow.

I could tell she was scarcely conscious of what was going on by the dazed face she bore and the confused eyes that glanced around the room. She was so lost. She was so helpless. She was so _not _Charlene.

"What happened?" I asked, almost inaudibly, too shocked to allow myself to speak. This, and I was afraid of startling her.

"Some of the freshman girls pounced on her. It was scary. Took a real beating." One of them explained, a tall brunette with a frown across her face. "I didn't think they could ever be so horrid."

"She's pretty banged up so we didn't want to just leave her, but none of us knew how to get her home." The one who held Charlene by the shoulder stated, tucking a lock of sandy blonde hair behind her ear.

"I'll take her." I muttered. "Here…"

Gently, I moved forward and put her arm around my shoulders to give her support. The others helped her stand as well. In an effort divided into the five of us, we managed to get her out to my car in the parking lot. On the short voyage, the girls took turns trying to describe to me the occurrence. Certain details were slightly grisly, and I had goose bumps just envisioning it.

I thanked them for their help and for staying with Charlene for so long, but they all replied immediately that it was no problem and that they wished her well, hoping strongly that she was okay.

"Come on, let's get you home, buddy." I mumbled, helping her into the passenger seat. She groaned deeply as she sank into the seat, no doubt suffering from the agony of the contact between the tough material and her opened skin.

About five minutes into the drive, she turned to me and mumbled a hushed, "Mandy?"

"Yeah, hun?" My heart stopped abruptly at the sound of her voice so wounded. How could some girls do that to her? And slicing her ankle with a razon was beyond horrendous!

"Thanks for coming to pick me up." She muttered, leaning her head again the back of the seat and grumbling some under her breath about her head hurting. Before I had a chance to say anything in response, she said, "Sorry if I'm getting your car bloody."

I shook my head, giggling because only she would be focused on that when she was hurt so badly. "Don't worry about it." I told her, and added, laughing. "It's Finn's car anyways."

**I know that Amanda was just barley in it, but I think I'm going to write a little continuation of it later on to elaborate for my poorly structured mess, haha. Well I hope you enjoyed! Please Read, Review, and Request!**


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